Tempus Inventionis
by DrZevil
Summary: They did it. They were now a thousand years in the future, but the galaxy is hardly at peace, the battlefield has only grown. All of time is at risk and Starfleet needs all the help it can get. The question is, after all they have been through, will they help?
1. Chapter 1

Darkness. Just like the six other times she made the jumps through time, there was only darkness and no sound except for her breathing inside the time suit. _'We really need to make a better name for this suit. Maybe Spock and I could-'_ thought Michael Burnham, before she stopped herself. _'I can't think like that anymore, there is a high probability that I will never see Spock again, or Sarek, or Amanda, or Captain Pike, or Ash-'_

"_Commander Burnham do you read?"_ Commander Saru asked over the suits comm, reminding her that unlike before, she wasn't alone. She had a whole star ship of people that she cared about to get through this temporal void space.

"I hear you Saru," She replied, her voice still a little rough from the emotional farewell she shared with her brother and her short-lived panic attack, "Is everything okay aboard _Discovery_?"

"_The ship, as well as her crew are a little worse for wear, but-'_ Saru began to say, but was interrupted by another voice.

"_Saru is just trying to spare your feelings, Michael,"_ said Philippa Georgiou, formerly Emperor Georgiou of the Terran Empire, _"We are all either injured or dying on a ship that is flying on faith rather than dilithium, in a void that will give nightmares to all of the crew that's not me, while you daydream our lives away."_

"I see you survived dealing with Leland." Michael said in deadpan but was secretly glad the Terran had survived. Even though she knew that this woman wasn't her Georgiou, she still couldn't reconcile the idea of losing her twice.

"_Of course, I did."_ Georgiou replied as if it was obvious, _"What do you take me for? One of your Federation officers?"_

"_Can we please get back to the issue of the void please?"_ asked Saru, sounding very exasperated. While he no longer had the mentality of a prey animal, he still did not like the look of this void.

"_Yeah, voids are bad."_ Said the dry voice of Jett Renuo, the newest member of their little family, _"I'm pretty sure that we're supposed to be in the future, and if this is it, then we are royally screwed."_

"How many people are on this channel?" Asked Michael incredulously, annoyed but glad for the levity of the situation in the face of the all-consuming nothing before her.

"_Oh, no we're just all on the bridge!"_ said Tilly quickly, _"and Georgiou wasn't kidding about all of us being injured, she looks really bad- not that you look 'bad' bad, ma'am, you just look really hurt, Capt- I mean Emper- I'm sorry, it's been a weird couple of days, what exactly do I call you?"_

"_Are you sure that you're Killy's counterpart?"_ Asked the former Emperor, sounding both bewildered and disgusted at the same time.

"Ladies! Can we please focus?" Michael snapped, getting a little tired of the normalcy already, "I don't know why it's taking this long. Normally it just takes a few seconds and I'm already at my destination."

"_Is it possible that since we are going to the future instead of the past, the journey is taking longer?"_ Saru asked, sounding like he was addressing the room at large instead of just her.

"_That's not the most scientific way to put it but, yeah, that could be it."_ Replied Jett, _"Another factor is that when the Commander made those jumps before, she was just taking herself and her suit and not a big-ass ship and everyone on it. This is still mostly new territory for all of us; we're almost literally flying blind."_ There was a short pause, where Michael imagined her looking out the ships front viewport, _"Actually, make that completely blind."_

Suddenly there was a flash of red light and Michael could feel herself being pulled somewhere. "Saru! It's starting!" If he responded, she did not hear it; she couldn't over the loud din of voices and sounds coming from all around her.

_This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Star Ship _Enterprise

_The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few_

_I have been, and always shall be your friend_

'_Spock?'_ Thought Michael before a loud roar of anger bombarded her ears.

_KAAAHHHAAANN!_

_Second star to the right, straight on 'till morning_

_Make it so_

_It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. It is the effort that yields its own rewards_

_There are times, sir, when men of good conscience cannot blindly_ _follow orders_

_I am Worf, Son of Mohg_

_Resistance is futile_

_Cardassian rule may have been oppressive, but at least it was simple_

_It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for the answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers._

_Victory is life_

_You Starfleet types are too dependent on gadgets and gizmos. You lose your natural instincts for survival_

_Please state the nature of the medical emergency_

_You can use logic to justify anything. That's it's power –and it's flaw_

_We're Starfleet officers, weird is part of the job_

_How would you like a trip out the airlock?_

_The Weak shall perish_

_We do this for our friends, our family, our homes, and for the galaxy at large. I am honored to serve with everyone in this fleet that shares that goal, regardless of their affiliation_

Then it was over. They were floating in space, and below them was Terra Elysium, presumably a thousand years in the future. "Computer, what's the stardate?" she asked a little breathlessly.

"Working," said the computer's monotone voice, "The current stardate is 1001051.7."

"_Holy shit we did it!"_ came the shout, or rather the squeal, of Ensign Tilly followed by the weighty silence of Saru giving her a disapproving look, _"Sorry, sorry! Just slipped out, but we're in the future guys!"_

"_Okay, super cool that we're here," _Jett said sardonically, but no less dry than usual, _"But now what? Do we head to the surface and become farmers?"_

"_I tolerated being forced into this universe and joining Starfleet," _Said Georgiou, voice sounding very annoyed, _"I am _not_ going to stand for becoming a farmer on a primitive backwater planet. I say we become pirates."_

Before anyone could veto that idea, an alert showed up on her HUD right before a wormhole opened up in front of them and a ship flew through. It was sleek, long, had a red hull, and looked sinister. Without warning or trying to hail them, the ship fired a barrage of green and black energy beams at _Discovery_, hitting them hard.

"_Shields down!"_ Michael heard Rhys shout over the com.

"_Engines are unresponsive!"_ Shouted Tilly in a panic.

"_Weapons too!"_ Shouted Keyla

'_No,'_ Michael thought, _'after we've been through so much, we can't die now, not like this!'_

As if hearing her prayers, another wormhole opened up and expelling a large white streamlined ship with large round blue nodes on the hull. A moment later, her HUD system lit up with an incoming hail from the newcomer.

"U.S.S. Discovery_, this is Captain T'raas of the Galactic Union Star Ship _Whitaker_." _said a female voice on the other end of the hail, _"Permission to send a repair team while we deal with the Na'kuhl?"_

"_Permission granted Captain."_ Saru acquiesced before speaking to Michael,_ "Commander Burnham, I suggest you make your way to the shuttle bay."_

"_That won't be necessary. Commander Burnham, transporting you directly to your bridge now."_ T'raas told them as Michael's view was obscured by blue energy and she found herself on the bridge of the _Discovery_ with a group of officers, presumably from the future Federation ship.

"Chief Skavin reporting for duty, Commander Saru." Said a blonde Tellarite at the head of the group, all of whom were dressed in black uniforms with metallic orange covering their right arm in a diamond pattern. "I have teams transporting into the areas that need the most attention, but I thought I would see to the bridge myself."

"Most appreciated, Chief Skavin." Nodded Saru, "I ask that you work quickly so we can aid your captain against these… Na'kuhl I believe is what your captain called them?"

"That's them, sir, but I'm more concerned keeping this museum piece floating." Skavin said, the typical Tellarite antagonism showing in his voice as he and his people got to work, "But you don't need to worry about the Captain, she and the _Whitaker_ have a few tricks up their sleeves."

As the Tellarite said this, the front of the ship opened up and six fighter ships, similar in design to the _Whitaker,_ shot out and fired red and black energy beams at the Na'kuhl vessel as the _Whitaker_ shot beams that seemed to have every color in the rainbow in them.

"I've never seen weapons fire like that before." Keyla observed from her place at the helm.

"The red beams look like they might be antiproton, but I have no idea what others are." Michael said as she went to her station, having stepped out of her suit and attempted to use the ships scanners to figure out what they were.

"Whatever they are, they sure are pretty." Said Tilly earning her incredulous looks and raised eyebrows from everyone around them. Tilly looked around them a little self consciously, "What? They are!" she defended, earning her a smile from Michael.

"Good guess with the Antiproton beams, Commander." Said Skavin as he came over to Michael's station and placed a silver disk the size of an old earth coin onto it. As soon as the coin touched the surface, it seemed to disintegrate into nanites that scurried all over the console and disappeared inside it. "The 'pretty' ones are chroniton beams, temporal weapons that'll teach those pale bastards that they're on the wrong side of this war. How's it looking in there, Tempus?"

"All subsystems will soon be operational, Chief Skavin." Said a deep voice from the console, shocking the 23rd century officers. "I can also report that the repair team in Sickbay are 93.8% finished and the team in Engineering is 47.29% finished but they are having difficulties with the spore drive. Dr. Dumax has revived Lieutenant Commander Stamets to assist them. The Lieutenant Commander requests that Ensign Tilly and 'that infuriating Luddite engineer' come and help him, however I do not see that name anywhere in the ships manifest."

"It's okay, he means me." Said Jett as she and Tilly moved quickly into the turbolift, "At least I'm not a mushroom crazed control freak with a stick up his-" the rest of her very dry insult was cut off by the turbolift doors closing.

"Who was that Chief Skavin?" Asked Michael as she looked at her console uneasily, the memory of the nanites that Control tried to use on her still fresh in her mind.

"I am Commander Tempus, Chief Science Officer for the _U.S.S._ _Whitaker_." Said the voice from the console, "I am an android and I am speaking to you through my connection to the nanites that we are using to repair your ship."

"I'd keep them away from Engineering," Warned Georgiou as she glared at the console, "There's a corpse filled with nanites infected by malicious AI in the spore drives reaction cube."

"I have detected and quarantined the remains of former Captain Leland until they can be properly disposed of." Said Tempus, "You have nothing to fear, Emperor Georgiou."

"Your robot, or whatever it is, is faulty Tellarite." Georgiou sneered as she turned to Skavin, "He seems to have me confused with someone I am not."

"Oh, he's not faulty, 'your majesty'." Skavin said, angry sarcasm coloring the title, "We were briefed on your whole crew, and you can thank the former Director of Section Thirty-One, Ash Tyler, for including your true identity."

"Ash became the director of Section Thirty-One?" Asked Michael, surprised. She knew that Ash believed in Section Thirty One's mission, but she didn't think he would have been made the director of the whole organization.

"Yup," Said Skavin as he went over to another console and waved some kind of tool over it, "a pretty good one before he retired, and they turned it into a bunch of homicidal extremists."

"This is what I hate about time travel." Griped Georgiou petulantly, "You miss all the fun parts."

Michael was about to ask another question when a wormhole opened up and the Na'kuhl flew through it. "Commander Saru," said Bryce, "the _Whitaker_ is hailing us."

"Onscreen." Came the Kelpiens reply and the screen changed from space to the inside of a ship and a Vulcan woman's face in the middle of it. Her black hair was cut short like most Vulcan's and she had bright blue eyes.

"_A pleasure to meet you face to face, Captain Saru,"_ Said the Vulcan with a smile, which surprised most of the crew. _"I'm Captain T'raas."_

"It's nice to meet you as well, captain." Saru said with a slight nod of his head, internally shaking the oddity of a Vulcan smiling from his mind, "We appreciate the rescue. We were not expecting any kind of attack; this was supposed to be a safe harbor in this time."

"_And it was supposed to be,"_ the Vulcan captain told him, a frown spreading on her face,_ "but the Na'kuhl and their allies had other plans, but that's a conversation to have in person. Permission for my first officer and I to come aboard?"_

"Permission granted, Captain, we'll meet you in the transporter room…provided it still works?" That last part was directed to Skavin, who was using another tool on the same console.

"Yup, everything is working like it should. Just be careful when you transport over, cap. No idea what this ancient tech will do to you." He said, not even looking up from his work, completely missing the glares from the _Discovery_'s crew and the eye roll from his crew, which included his captain.

"_I'm sure I'll be fine, Skavin, but thanks for the warning. _Whitaker_ out."_

As the view screen went back to the scene outside, Saru stood up, "Commander Burnham and Specialist Georgiou with me, Lieutenant Detmer, you have the Conn." He ordered and the two women followed him into the Turbolift as the cyborg took the Captain's chair.

A quick and thankfully uneventful ride, the three exited the lift and walked toward the transporter room. "I didn't see Nahn on the bridge, is she alright?" Ask Michael, worried for the new security chief.

"Leland did some damage to her, but it's nothing the doctors in sick bay can't fix." Georgiou told her, before she smirked, "She did well, for an alien."

"High praise coming from you." Saru observed as they walked into the transporter just as the blue light of the 32nd century transporters faded revealing their guests, one of which was a female Kelpien, much to the surprise of both Michael and Saru.

"Captain Saru!" Greeted T'raas, with an exuberance that would put Tilly to shame, as she stepped down from the transporter pad, followed by her Kelpien first officer. "This is such an honor!"

"Thank you, Captain." Saru said, tearing his gaze away from the other Kelpien, frowning when his brain caught up with the Captains words. "However, while I am in command of _Discovery_, I am not her captain."

"Actually, you are." Said the Kelpien woman, gracefully tilting her head in greeting when everyone turned to her, "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, I am Commander Renara, First Officer of the _Whitaker_. After your disappearance a thousand years ago, you were promoted posthumously before all files and reports of _Discovery_ and her crew were sealed."

"I'm Captain?" Asked Saru in mild disbelief, feeling both elated and terrified despite his altered brain chemistry. This was something he had always wanted, but the feeling was bittersweet given how he received his promotion.

"You are focusing on the wrong part of that statement, Kelpien." Georgiou sneered as she leveled a glare at the time agents, "What do you mean 'sealed'?"

"It was because of the time traveling element of our mission." Michael stated, not even bothering to phrase it as a question, "Starfleet most likely needed to keep all information of the nature of our last mission secret and the only way to do that completely was to seal all our files and reports."

Michael swallowed thickly "Possibly even putting gag orders on our friends and family." She wasn't going to lie to herself, it hurt to know that her family wasn't allowed to talk about her outside of their home or to mourn the loss of her out in the open, but she needed to focus on the task at hand.

"That's correct, Commander Burnham." Said T'raas looking at her with sympathy, which was still a little odd, "Starfleet didn't want to risk anyone using your research to meddle with time." It was then that Michael noticed something about the Captain: her features, while unmistakably Vulcan, were softer than an average Vulcan, just like her brother.

"You're half Vulcan." Michael stated in surprised wonder, a slight smile on her face. While not uncommon, Vulcan hybrids were few and far between, especially Human/Vulcan hybrids.

"I am." T'raas said with a smile of her own at the Vulcan raised human, "Which is why I can show emotion on my face and in my voice without it being awkward."

"By the Gods, I see this universe's obsession with needless pleasantries is still intact." Georgiou scoffed, "Can we please get to the task at hand before I fling myself out the airlock?"

"No one's stopping you." Saru commented dryly.

"I'll push the button to launch you into space myself." T'raas said with an unfriendly glare towards the Terran.

"Shall we take this discussion to your conference room?" asked Renara, forestalling whatever venomous thing Georgiou was about to say to the Vulcan Hybrid.

"Of course, right this way." Saru said and led the way. As they walked Saru couldn't help but steal a few glances at the other Kelpien, but kept his thoughts to himself, now was not the time for personal questions.

Once inside the conference room and after taking their seats, T'raas began their debriefing. "Like Commander Burnham surmised earlier, _Discovery_, her crew, and all their records and scientific findings were sealed, and gag orders were placed on your family and your friends that remained behind."

"This is sounding a little too familiar." Saru said dryly, his eyes cutting to Georgiou instinctively.

"You're not wrong." Renara told him, "If someone learned of your successful excursions through time, they would undoubtedly try and alter the past, which would lead to disastrous consequences."

"Consequences that are being willfully ignored for greater control of the galaxy." Georgiou observed with a cruel twist of her lips. "Has the Federation learned a little ruthlessness in a thousand years?"

"We are nothing like the twisted fun house mirror of a universe you once ruled." T'raas said coldly, glaring at Georgiou for a moment before turning back to Michael and Saru. "We slowly and carefully learned how to monitor the time stream and travel through it with little to no ill effect to the time space continuum."

T'raas then told them how the Galactic Union, the interplanetary governing body that had been built upon the foundation of a coalition between the United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire, and Romulan Republic, and how Starfleet's mission had grown to protect the timeline from incursions.

"The Klingons and the Romulans are part of Starfleet?" Asked Michael in disbelief. Growing up on Vulcan, she had come to share the Vulcans opinion of their separated cousins and her past with the Klingons spoke for itself, even if her hatred had died down because of Ash, she still could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"They're not the only ones." T'raas said as she turned her wrist, bringing a holographic interface into existence around her hand, hit a few keys, and holographic images of species that were opposed to the Federation appeared and all were wearing Starfleet uniforms. "Orions, Gorn, Ferasan and several other races that you have never seen before are now a part of the Union and Starfleet."

"Amazing as this is," Saru said as he turned away from the images to look at T'raas with a raised brow, "there is clearly an element within the galaxy that disagrees with the Union."

"The more things change." Georgiou snarked with a roll of her eyes.

"The more they stay the same." Michael finished the old saying, her tone exhausted instead of being sardonic like the former Emperor.

"Oh yeah, always someone out there with an axe to grind." T'raas said as she made a few motions with her hand and the images changed to a group of five humanoids. T'raas then told them of the Temporal Liberation Front and their shadowy leader, the Envoy, and his allies. Four of the five species were unfamiliar to the three 23nd century officers, but one was.

"My Empire is here?!" Georgiou asked in disbelief, shooting her feet but her eyes never leaving the image of 24th century Terran Officer.

"They're recent additions to the Front's forces, yes." T'raas said, her tone icy as she glared at Georgiou. The captain's attitude toward the Terran was now making much more sense to Michael and it seemed that Georgiou was catching on as well if the cruel smirk appearing on her face was any indication.

"They must be quite the problem for you, given your reaction towards me." Georgiou said, wicked cruelty lacing her voice, her smirk growing into a smile as the hybrid captain's glare intensified. "Did they take someone you cared about? Do you wish to kill me for vengeance on their behalf, half breed?"

"I think that's enough, Specialist Georgiou." Saru said in an authoritative voice, a warning clear in his voice.

"Relax, Kelpian," Georgiou said as she sat back down, smile still in place, "I only wanted to see if the little hybrid had teeth." She shifted her gaze to said hybrid, "And if you are worried about me rejoining them, don't. If I went back, I would be seen as a failure and either forced to start from the ground up or killed by the current Emperor."

"That is far from reassuring, but I will let my superiors know." T'raas told them, her glare only lessening a fraction before she turned a kinder gaze to Michael and Saru, "For now, you have a choice to make."

"A choice?" Asked Michael, more than a little confused.

"You and your crew have gone above and beyond the call of duty for Starfleet and the Federation. You've more than earned a rest." T'raas told them sincerely as she banished the holograms. "But I'm I've been given the authority to offer you and your crew a chance to rejoin Starfleet as temporal agents, like myself.

"It would require a reintegration course at the Academy, but you all would be reinstated to your ranks and would be welcome assets in our fight against the Front." T'raas gave them a hopeful smile. "So, what'll it be?"

* * *

AN: So, what do you think? I loved the Discovery series and the fact that it's now apart of the game is amazing, so of course I had to make a story about it in the LOZverse!

QN: He also wanted to use his little Spock wannabe.

AN: Who asked you!? The 32nd century officers that you see are OC's of mine from one of my other stories that's based on the Star Trek Online games. You don't need to read those or have played the game to know whats going down, but I would love it if you read my STO stories. Anyway, dear readers, please leave a review and let me know what you think, but till next time I bid adieu!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Salutations and bienvenue! Chapter two, yay! Loved the response I got from this story! Keep it up!

* * *

"So, we left crazy time traveling nonsense a thousand years ago, just to jump into _more_ time traveling nonsense?" Asked Stamets, his irritation showing on his face as well as in his voice. He and the rest of the senior staff were now in the conference room and were told by Saru and Michael about the current state of the universe.

Saru had decided that before he gave his answer to the hybrid, he would discuss it with his crew, and they would make their decision together. T'raas had agreed and she and Renara were standing outside the room, waiting for their answer.

"Could be worse." Jet said from her place across the table. "We could be looking at a barren hellscape with robot overlords in charge."

"Somehow, I don't find terrorist with time machines any more comforting." Stamets retorted tartly to the engineer, who shrugged and rolled her eyes in response.

"I'm still stuck on the fact that the Klingons and the Romulans are now part of the Federation." Commented Nhan, who was looking amazing considering she had been beaten to an inch of her life by Control. "But since it was the _Whitaker_'s Klingon doctor who patched me up, I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"The medical technology she used was extraordinary." Dr. Culber said, still amazed at how far the medical sciences had advanced in a thousand years. He had nearly panicked when he saw the large woman stomp her way into his sick bay, clearly going toward his husband. He had tried to stop her, thinking she was an enemy, but was effortlessly knocked out of her way by an effortless one-armed shove. "Although, their bedside manner needs work."

"Yes, yes," Georgiou interjected, sounding annoyed and impatient as usual, "the future is both wonderful and terrible. Can we please get back to the task at hand? I've exterminated whole planets faster than you people make decisions."

"Specialist Georgiou is right- about this if nothing else." Michael said, adding the last part when Georgiou started to look smug. "We came to the future to stop control from getting the sphere data and we've done that; the mission is over, and we have no obligation to continue on in Starfleet if we don't want to.

"You and the rest of the crew are only here because you chose to come with me to bring _Discovery_ to the future," Michael continued, looking everyone in the room in the eye, making sure that they saw how grateful she was, "you all have gone above the call of duty, on this and our previous missions, and I would understand if you wanted to leave this life behind."

"With all due respect, ma'am, but that's a load of crap." Jett deadpanned with her arms crossed. "What else are we going to do?"

"I agree with the troglodyte, Commander." Said Stamets, to the shock of everyone.

"Scale of one to ten, how bad did that taste coming out of your mouth." Jett asked, a smirk on her face.

"Eleven." Stamets said with a grimace, before he turned to the two Commanding officers. "Before this whole thing started, I was going to teach at the Vulcan Science Academy but given the thousand-year gap in my education, I doubt that there's anything I'm going to teach is still relevant."

"I almost made the mistake of leaving this ship and my husband. I'm not going to do that a second time." Hue said, giving his husband a loving look before giving his hand a squeeze under the table, getting a squeeze in return. "Where he goes, I go."

"I still want to command my own Starship one day," Said Tilly with rarely seen confidence, "and the only place I can really do that is in Starfleet. Plus, I know this is going to sound childish, but I don't want to leave my family."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. I've learned to tolerate you fools and I'm in no mood to learn to do so with another crew." Georgiou told the two, her normally wicked smirk looking a lot more sincere than usual. "I think you two have your answer."

"Very well." Saru said with a small smile, pressing a control on the table that would activate the door's intercom. "Captain, can you and Commander Renara please join us." As the two time travelers walked, Saru said "We have our answer."

"And?" Asked the hybrid Captain with a smile, the anticipation and excitement clear on her face as she took in the room at large.

"We still need to give the rest of the crew a choice, but as for the senior staff and myself," He told her with a gesture at everyone in the room, "we accept your offer of reinstatement."

"Fantastic, Captain!" T'raas said, almost looking giddy with excitement at the news. "I'll inform command immediately. Now, there will be a reintegration course and debrief, but that shouldn't be a problem."

"What about _Discovery_?" Asked Stamets, wondering about the fate of his life's work. "The whole reason we came here was to make sure that the sphere data doesn't get into the wrong hands."

"The _Discovery_ has to stay here, I'm afraid." T'raas told them, genuine regret on her face and in her voice. "Before I came here, I was briefed on not only all of you but of the fate of your ship."

"What's going to happen to her?" Asked Tilly, the tiniest waver in her voice. If the crew was her family, _Discovery_ was her home and she didn't want to abandon it like space trash.

"We don't, or at least my crew and I don't know." T'raas told them sounding chagrined. "I suspect my bosses know but didn't tell me." She then muttered something that vaguely sounded like 'I am not a blabber mouth.'

"Then if you all will inform your departments know about the offer and that we'll be abandoning ship shortly, this meeting is adjourned." Saru ordered and the group dispersed. "Commander Renara," Saru asked the other Kelpian, "If it's not a bother, I was hoping to have a word with you."

Renara turned to T'raas with a questioning look on her face, "Go ahead, Number One." T'raas said with a fond smile, "I was hoping Commander Burnham could have a talk." She turned to the human, "If that's alright with you, Captain?"

"Of course, let me just let me inform my science team and we can talk then." Michael said then turned to Saru with a smile. "If you'll excuse me, Captain." Saru nodded and the two women left. With the two women gone, the two Kelpians were now alone. "Commander, may I ask you something?"

"Yes, but I feel like I already know what you will ask." Said Renara, "You wish to know if my presence on board a Federation Starship means that Kaminar obtained Federation membership."

"And did we?" Asked Saru, hopeful anticipation coloring his voice. Ever since he left his home world and joined Starfleet, he had always dreamed of the day that his people set off into the stars and joined the interstellar community.

"We gained membership in 2507." Renara informed him, activating her own holo emitter to show images of Kaminar and Kelpian society. "It took us centuries to find a sustainable coexistence with the Ba'ul, but eventually we did manage a cooperative partnership and the Kaminar Diarchy was born."

"Predator and Prey working together." Saru said in awe looking at the images of Kelpians and even Ba'ul living in an advanced civilization, nothing like the world he left years ago. "As much as I would love to believe this, given what I experienced at the hands of the Ba'ul, I'm sure you can understand my issue with swallowing that." Saru accompanied this statement with a very skeptical look.

"It is far from perfect, sir, I assure you." Renara said with an eye roll, clearly reciprocating his feelings. "As in a standard Diarchy, there are two rulers: the Shepherd and the Reaper." The image changed to show a female Kelpian in the white robes of a priest with a black slime covered Ba'ul next to her.

"The Shepherd represents Kelpian interests and the Reaper represents the Ba'ul's, but both have councils under them that must vote and agree with their motions and edicts before they're passed." Renara continued, bringing up an image of a meeting room with ten of both species sitting at a large round table. "Then both sides must discuss and agree with a majority in favor or against." Renara then banished the images and placed her hands behind her back. "Suffice it to say, not much gets down on the homeworld unless both sides are in balance."

Saru took a moment to digest this. His people and the Ba'ul working together, albeit far from perfectly, but to think they had gone from predator and prey to having a symbiotic relationship. _'I wish Captain Georgiou, _my_ Captain Georgiou, was here to see this.'_ Saru thought with an internal smile.

"Thank you for informing me of what I missed, Commander." Saru said after a moment, gesturing as he spoke like he usually did. "I realize I could have looked this onboard the _Whitaker_, but a chance to hear it from one of my people who's also in Starfleet was too good an opportunity to pass up."

"It was my pleasure sir." Renara said with a smile and a head bow, before a look of apprehension crossed her face. "I now have a request: After I clear it with Captain T'raas and Starfleet, I plan on informing the Diarchy of arrival and I am sure that they would wish to meet with you. Do I have your permission to arrange a meeting?"

"Of course," Saru replied, flattered but bewildered, "I would of course ask why they would want to speak with me outside my obvious insight into pre-Kaminar Diarchy civilization and culture."

"Because were the first to leave the homeworld to journey to the stars and then return to bring our world into true balance." Renara replied, her words sounding as if they had been written somewhere. "You are also the first Kelpian to join Starfleet, attain the rank of captain, and then achieve the Starfleet Medal of Honor. For better or worse, you are an important figure in our culture."

"I suppose…phrased that way, it's rather hard to disagree with that logic." Saru finally said, tone slightly awestruck by that observation and not really knowing what he was going to do with that information. Internally shaking himself, he fell back into the familiar comfort of procedure. "I look forward to the meet, Commander, but if you'll excuse me I must prepare my crew to abandon ship."

Renara nodded, "Of course, sir, I leave you to it." Renara turned to leave but stopped and turned back around. "And sir? It was an honor to meet you." She gave a small bow and then quickly left, leaving Saru with even more bewilderment than before, but a smile on his face.

* * *

After informing her science team about the choice to reinstate or retire, Michael gave the Vulcan hybrid a tour of their ship. As they walked, Michael couldn't help but grin at the way the hybrids eyes looked at every surface in near reverence. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"She is!" T'raas gushed, overjoyed at walking through these historic halls. "I've never been on a ship from your era before! I was once on the _Enterprise-A_ but that was after they did all the retrofits and-"

"_Enterprise-A_?" Michael asked confused, stopping in her tracks, before she realized what must have happened. Ships, especially flag ships, were only received a hyphen letter when the ship is retired or destroyed. With a small amount of trepidation, she asked "What happened to the first and… her crew?"

"Damn it. I am a blabber mouth." T'raas's eyes were closed and she was making a face as if she regretted her words, not filling Michael with confidence. She slowly opened her eyes and gave Michael a reassuring look. "Your brother and Captain Pike were not aboard the _Enterprise_ when it was destroyed. Pike wasn't even the Captain when it happened, and your brother was…elsewhere."

Michael let out a sigh of relief. "I know…I know that, logically, from this point in time that both Pike and my brother have been dead for hundreds of years, but-"

"But it's still a relief to know that they didn't die like that." T'raas finished the statement, an understanding smile growing on her lips. "With this job, it's easy to let logic take over and sometimes you need to, but you also need to have balance in your life or you're not actually living it."

Michael was taken aback by the wisdom from someone that appeared so young. "That's… surprisingly very profound." She said with a smile.

"I'm full of surprises, Commander." T'raas replied with a wink. Was it Michael's imagination, or was the hybrid flirting with her? "Case in point," She continued, pulling out what looked like a small metal marble, "this is something that belongs to you."

"For me?" Michael asked confused as she took the marble. On closer examination, Michael saw small grooves around it and it was made of a metal that had an opalescent quality to it.

"It was entrusted to me by someone we both know." T'raas told her meaning fully, looking her right in the eye. "One of the people we were just talking about."

Michael looked down at the small device, looking at it curiously. _'Who would have the foresight to leave me a message from the future?'_ She thought, but the answer was obvious if it was down to those two. "Spock? You know my brother?"

"I do. I met him on a mission a few years ago... for me at least, it was a few hundred years ago for him." T'raas chuckled at the memory, "He knew that I was Starfleet and from the future right off the bat."

Michael smiled in fond pride. "That doesn't surprise me, he was always very perceptive. What is it?" Michael asked, looking at the bauble with new reverence. Her brother had actually held onto something for a few hundred years in the vain hope that he would run into a time traveler that could give it to her. _'It's so…illogical and human. I bet Amanda would be proud of him.'_

"The device is a 31st century holo emitter that has the holomatrix chip he gave me in it." T'raas told her. "I don't know what's on it, your bother encrypted them with a passcode phrase that he said only you know."

"That doesn't surprise me either." Michael sighed in exasperation, frowning at the device. "He loved puzzles as a child. Did he give you a clue?"

"He said that 'the answer lies with Alice'." T'raas told her a curious frown on her face. "He also said that 'if she does not know the answer, then she was not listening very well'."

Michael rolled her eyes at the comment. She loved her brother, but he could be a sarcastic snot sometimes. Then she thought about what the clue could mean. _''the answer lies with Alice'. What the hell does that…'_ Michael stop that train of thought as his sarcastic comment also came to her mind.

"Can it be that simple?" She muttered then held the device up to her face and said "_'Curiouser and curiouser'_." At once the device came to life, flying out of her hand to hover before her. There was a fizzle of photons and then a figure stood before them.

He was dressed in Vulcan Ambassador robes and had his grey hair cut short like all Vulcans tend to and he was old, very old if the multitude of wrinkles were anything to go by, but Michael would know him anywhere. "Spock?" She whispered/asked in amazement.

"It is…far more than agreeable to see you again." The photonic hybrid said, a small and rarely seen smile on his face. "I only wish I was seeing you in the flesh, but at this point, that would be impossible, even for you."

"You look like father." She whispered, still in shock to not only see her brother, but to see him so old.

"A statement I would normally be averse to hear, but I made peace with that unfortunate fact long ago." Spock said, his face turning into a frown and his tone becoming even more bland than before. Spock looked around the hall before his eyes landed on T'raas. "Captain T'raas, thank you for delivering my program to Michael." Spock said, giving the other hybrid a small bow in thanks. "It more to me than you know."

"It was my pleasure Ambassador." T'raas replied, mimicking his bow before she turned to Michael, "I'll let you two catch up."

On an impulse, Michael rushed in to hug the other woman. She wasn't a hugger, that was Tilly's department, but seeing her brother after thinking that she would never again was making the Vulcan raised human uncharacteristically emotional. "Thank you." She whispered, her grip around the other woman's shoulders tightening.

"Y-you're welcome." Said a very surprised T'raas as she returned the hug. The hug lasted a little longer than it should, Michael finding the hybrid's embrace comforting, but Spock clearing his throat shocked the two women back to their senses and they broke apart.

"W-well," T'raas stuttered, a light green tinting her cheeks, "I had best be getting back to the _Whitaker_. I'll see you later Commander, Ambassador." T'raas then turned on her heel and made a calm but notably quick retreat.

Michael watched her leave, trying to figure out the feelings she was feeling about the Captain. "_'Curiouser and curiouser'_." She finally said then turned to Spock, who was giving her the look he always used when he found a new problem. "What?"

Spock shook his head, giving her that same smile from earlier. "It is not important." He gestured down the hall. "Shall we adjourn somewhere private so we can continue this conversation?" Michael nodded, putting her thoughts about the other hybrid to the back of her mind as she led the way to her quarters to have a chat with her brother.

* * *

_Chief Science Officers personal log, Stardate:_ _1001051.7_

_I wasn't sure what I was going to find on the other side of the time jump, whether it was nightmare of scorched and lifeless worlds ruled over by a malevolent AI or a galaxy at peace that would be safe harbor for the ship that was both my salvation and home. I'm still not sure where this world of tomorrow is on that scale, but I know that it was not what I was expecting. I thought I would be alone, never knowing what happened to my loved ones, but that was foolish of me. I should know by now that this crew- this family would never allow me to do this alone and that Spock would allow me to remain ignorant of the world I missed. The things he told me: augmented humans, androids, Omnipotent and cosmic beings, peace with the Klingons, and even his resurrection! Amanda had told me about the fal-tor-pan, but I never imagined that Spock would be part of it. This brave new world is full of dangers and surprises, but I know that we'll face them together._

"Kirk became the captain of the _Enterprise_?!" Said Tilly in disbelief as she and Michael made their way to the docking tubes that connected them to the _Whitaker_. Michael had been telling her friend about what her brother, who was now deactivated whose holo emitter was in her bag, had told her. "Kirk? As in James Tiberius 'I will sleep with anything female' Kirk?"

"I take it you knew him?" Michael asked amused at her friends' reaction. Her brother had told her much about his former captain and dear friend and wasn't surprised about the addition Tilly gave his name.

"He was in the year behind me at the Academy!" She said, still gob smacked at this news. "He was the biggest flirt there and he had this thing about no win scenarios that he would not let go. I think the last time I was at the Academy he was on his third try on beating the _Kobayashi Maru_."

"Apparently he beat it." Michael told her, enjoying the shocked look on her friend's face.

"Meh, I figured out how to beat that thing years ago." Jett told them as she sidled up next to them as they walked into the docking tubes.

"Really?" Asked Tilly surprised and a little confused. "How?"

"I hack into the simulation day before and make it let me win." Jett said dryly, causing the other women to roll their eyes at the blunt solution.

"A simple if inelegant method of victory." Stated Stamets as he and Hue came up behind them.

"If it works, it works." Replied Jett as they finally stepped onto the _Whitaker_, and Jett and Tilly froze as they looked got a good look at the future ship. It was sleek, with the walls either white or shiny chrome and interspaced with black glass screens cutting through them.

"I thought she was pretty on the outside." Tilly whispered reverently as her eyes darted all around the ship's interior, committing every single inch of it to memory.

"I love you." Jett said just as reverently, her usually sarcasm and dry tone absent.

"Thank you." Tilly said absently.

"I was talking to the ship." Jett said, a hint of her usual tone and demeanor coming back to her.

The three scientists looked at each other before muttering and rolling their eyes. "Engineers." They all said in unison, two out of three having a measure of fondness in their voices, as they pushed past them to head further into the ship and find their temporary quarters to deposit their things.

Once that was done, they all joined the rest of their crew in the _Whitaker_'s hanger bay. Everyone had a glass of real champagne, not synthehol, they were all off duty. "It looks like we're all here." Saru said at a makeshift podium, where the rest of the senior staff were gathered, then looked out at the sea of faces. "If I might have everyone's attention." Saru ordered, and everyone turned to look at him.

"The French novelist, Marcel Proust, once said, 'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.' _Discovery_ opened our eyes to sights both wonderful and terrible new things: she showed us the breadth and width of our universe and our place in the Multiverse, to new sights in our galaxy, for some of us quite literally," a chuckle went through the crowd at this as Stamets and he shared an ironic look at one another, "to new hardships, new mysteries, new pain, new love, and new loss, although… perhaps loss is more familiar than any of us wish to know."

Saru paused and not a soul in the room wasn't thinking of Airiam or Admiral Cornwall. "I am grateful for the new eyes that _Discovery_ gave me and that I was able to find them with you, all of you." It was brief, but Michael's eyes locked with Saru's. They had had a rocky start, even before the Battle of the Binary's, but they had not worked past that and become friends, more than friends, they had become family.

"Let us all raise our glasses and toast the eye-opening career of one of the best ships to grace the stars." Saru pressed a button and turned to face the large holo viewscreen that appeared behind him and the senior staff showing the _Discovery_. "To _Discovery_!" he toasted, his words being repeated by the rest of the crew.

* * *

AN: A sad day for the crew of the _Discovery_, but don't worry dear readers, I'm not done with them just yet. What did you all think of how I predict how a society on Kaminar would form and work? Let me know your thoughts with a review or a PM, but till next time, I bid you adieu!


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